Something New
by Professor Flourish and Blotts
Summary: Tonks tugged at her yellow curls. "Well, bright colourful hair is fun! And you have no idea just how much."


**A/N: I own none of this. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling**

 _ **Written for the Golden Snitch's Ollivander's Wand Shop Challenge.**_

 _ **Wand wood: Chestnut (write about a character dying their hair.)**_

 _ **Also written for the Golden Snitch's Dreamcatcher's Challenge**_

 _ **Prompt No. 9: Expression: write about a character 'expressing' themselves, such as trying out a new hairstyle.**_

 _ **House: Horned Serpent;**_ _ **School: Ilvermorny ;**_ _ **The Golden Snitch**_

* * *

"Wotcher Charlie!"

"Hello." replied Charlie, absently, continuing to write busily.

The young, orange-haired witch took a flying leap and landed almost on top of him, scattering his neatly arranged notes and spilling dark blue ink all over a neatly written essay.

"Sorry, sorry!" she said hastily, trying to gather up all the fallen pieces of parchment, while her friend regarded her with amusement.

"You're lucky this isn't Percy's." he said, indicating the neat notes. "He'd have had a fit. But you could have spared this though." He lifted his long role of parchment carefully with both hands, trying to prevent the blobs of fresh ink from running. "I feel like I've spent a century on it already."

Tonks watched him anxiously, sitting crosslegged in the dewy grass, the chill evening breeze ruffling her choppy orange hair.

Presently he looked up, and said with a laugh: "Don't look so worried. It'll take a second to fix. Tell me what's with the hair instead. Snape give you an Acceptable in Potions again?"

"What?" She reached up and felt her hair thoughtfully. "No, I got an Exceeds Expectations today. And a letter from Mum." Her face brightened. "She says I can stay at Hogwarts for Christmas if I want."

"That's strange." Charlie slowly siphoned off the spilled ink with his wand.

"What's strange?"

"Your hair's usually orange when you've had a bad day, and when you won't admit that it's been a bad day." Charlie explained, rolling up the parchment and stuffing it into his satchel. "And you say it hasn't been a bad day, so it's, well, strange."

"Well, guess what!" Tonks's eyes twinkled in merriment. "I'm beginning to be able to control my Metamorphmagus powers! See!" She scrunched up her face and Charlie watched in fascination as her hair slowly grew longer and longer. Then it suddenly turned black.

"Wow!" Charlie clapped loudly. "I've never seen anything like it! Can you actually control it?"

"About time too." said Tonks. "According to all the books I've read, I should have been able to do this from age thirteen. And I can do so many other colours too! It's fun being different after all." She scrunched up her face again and her long hair turned buttercup yellow and curly. Charlie's eyes grew wider as her nose grew into a black snout.

"You look just like a badger now!" he said.

"I know! I should go cheer for a Quidditch match like this!" she said excitedly. "So what colour do you think suits me best? Orange? Yellow? A crazy green?"

"How about a sober brown or even a modest black?" he suggested.

Tonks grimaced. "That's so unimaginative." she said. "Be adventurous, Charlie."

"That's my line!" Charlie said, surprised.

"Explore, express yourself, try something new." continued Tonks, her fingers in her ears. "It's boring to just do what everyone's been doing for generations."

"Have you been overhearing my lectures to Percy, or something?" Charlie asked, in mock suspicion.

"All I'm trying to say is that a lot of things are fun, and you won't know just how fun until you try it yourself."

"I know _that!"_ Charlie said, stung by this. "That's practically what I tell Mum each time I do something crazy."

Tonks tugged at her yellow curls. "Well, bright colourful hair _is_ fun! And you have no idea just how much."

* * *

A few days later, as Tonks skipped her way into the Great Hall, she noticed a huge commotion near the Gryffindor table.

Wondering what was going on, she found a seat at the Hufflepuff table and poured herself some pumpkin juice carefully.

"Wotcher, Mary!" she said to her roommate. "What's going on there?"

"Charlie Weasley's dyed his hair green." said Mary, glasses askew in excitement. "It clashes horribly with his freckles though."

"What!" Tonks knocked over her goblet and rose quickly. Standing on tiptoe, she could just barely make out a mob of noisy boys moving towards the Entrance Hall and a short, stocky, green-haired individual in the centre. She grabbed a slice of toast and followed them.

"Wotcher!" she gasped as she caught up with him.

"Hello, Dora!" Charlie smiled at her widely. "You're right. Bright, colourful hair is fun!"

His hair was a rich sea green, with slight streaks of a darker green towards the ends. Tonks thought he looked a bit like the Muggle pictures of mermans that she had seen at her cousins' house.

"Well?" he prompted.

"It clashes with your freckles." she replied.

Charlie's smile slid off his face and he regarded her reproachfully. "Is that all you have to say?"

"It is bright." she concluded at last.

"And fun," added Charlie.

"You're right!" Tonks exclaimed and laughed. "How did you do this? I didn't know there was a spell to change hair colour."

"I don't know if there is. I just bought a bottle of Dye-a-Day at Zonko's yesterday at Hogsmeade. You know," he added, "the one that no one wants to buy."

"They probably don't buy it for a reason." whispered Tonks under her breath, but sportingly, she too matched her hair to his and they walked to Herbology looking, as a laughing Bill later said, "like a pair of weird shrub twins".

* * *

The day passed very quickly, and Charlie's hair was soon back to its tomato red colour. Tonks found him sitting near the Quidditch pitch, slipping photographs into envelopes.

"What are you doing?" she asked him.

"Ron and Ginny'd probably like to see my green hair." he replied. "I'm sending them photos."

"Your mum'll have a fit and send you a Howler."

"She might. But it's worth it." Charlie looked up and smiled. "It was something new that I tried. Besides I looked so hideous, she'd rather I go chase dragons in Romania if that means I never dye my hair again."

"Clever," said Tonks.

"I know." answered Charlie. "Look, there's Bill. Let's tell him you're his long lost twin or something."

Tonks nodded and then scrunched up her face. Her hair slowly turned a rich tomato red, and freckles suddenly erupted on her nose.

"I look just like you now!" she laughed. "He'll probably fall into the Lake in shock. He was just telling me yesterday that he's had enough of twins for a lifetime." So saying, she hauled him to his feet and dragged him to his brother, but Charlie's mind had wandered. Somebody's bright blue satchel had just inspired him.


End file.
